Electric connecter



April 3, 1934.

E. L. ANDREW 1,953,891 ELECTRIC CONNECTER Filed Sept. 10, 1930 avwemtoz faw/n l find/cw Patented Apr. 3, 1934 PATEN'll OFFICE ELECTRIC CONNECTER Edwin L. Andrew, Rome, N. Y, assignor to General Cable Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 10, 1930, Serial No. 480,826

1 Claim. (Cl. 173-263) This invention relates to electrical connections or joints such, for example, as are employed in connecting separate conductors, or the separate parts of the same conductor, together to make an 5 eflicient current conducting joint.

Heretofore, conductors such as cables and the like have been formed generally of copper and it has been a comparatively simple matter to connect the diiferent copper wires or cables together to obtain a satisfactory electrical joint. How'- ever, recently cables and other types of conductorswhich were formed of some metal other than copper such, for example, as aluminum, have been introduced into use. The different characteristics of such metals, as contrasted with copper, have produced'certain difficulties in making satisfactory electrical connections and this is especially true when cables of the new material are connected to conductors such as branch lines formed of copper.

- An object of this invention is to provide an improved form of electrical connection constructed and arranged to produce an emcient current conducting joint between conductors of the same or difierent materials.

One of the difliculties experienced in connection with aluminum conductors, for example, is due to the fact that such a metal as aluminum cannot be satisfactorily soldered under conditions encountered by workmen in the field.

A further object ofthe invention is to provide a device of the type set forth constructed and arranged to connect aluminum and copper conductors without requiring the soldering of any aluminum or other diflicultly solderable material.

These and other objects which will be apparent to those skilled in this particular art are accomplished by means of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. '1 is a view in elevation of an electrical connection made in accordance with one embodiment of this invention, and

Figs. 2 and 3 are transverse sectional views on the lines 2-2 and 33 of Fig. l.

the malleability of certain suitable, current conducting metals, such as copper, aluminum and the like, to provide an electrical connection between conductors without requiring any soldering operation.- For example, as illustrated in Fig. 1,

separate conductors 5 and 6 which may be, in

effect, the separate parts of the same conductor, are connected by a connecting member 'I having a central body portion 8 and oppositely disposed,

sleeve-like ends 9 adapted to receive the exposed In the present invention advantage is taken of ends of the conductors 5 and 6. The member 7 is formed of suitable malleable metal which is compressed upon the conductors 5 and 6 with a gripping pressure causing the metal thereof to flow into and 1111 the spaces around the strands of the conductors to provide an electrical connection therebetween. Means is provided on the connecting member for connecting a branch conductor thereto. As illustrated, this is in the form of a connecting member or lug 10 having an end 11 of irregular outline embedded within the body portion 8 of the connecting member 7. An eye 12 or other suitable arrangement is provided on the exposed portion of the member 10 to permit the easy clamping 01 a branch or service line thereto.

The connecter can be easily formed by casting the member 7 in a. suitable moid around the inner end 11 of the member 10. Should it be intended-to employ the connecter for use with aluminum mains and copper branches, the connecting member 7 -will be formed of aluminum, and the member 10 of copper which may be coated with a suitable alloy capable of fusing with the molten aluminum in the casting operation so as toform an electrically perfect Joint between the two members. For example, zinc might be used as a fluxing metal. Under these circumstances the copper member 10 will also permit the formation of an electrically perfect joint with the copper branch connected thereto.

' With such an arrangement it will beapparent that conductors of the same or different metals can be connected together without requiring the lineman to endeavor to solder any diillcultly solderable material. -Where aluminum mains are to be connected to copper service taps, the lineman has only to make an aluminum to aluminum connection between the connecter sleeveand the main conductor, and a copper to copper connection between the lug and the copper service line.

like end adapted to engs ge said aluminum main 

